Sahara : Morocco finally reaps benefits from diplomatic offensive in the Caribbean

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, received separately on Thursday, November 28, in Rabat, the Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia, Philip Joseph Pierre; Grenada, Dickon Mitchell; and the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit. The three Caribbean government leaders reiterated their support for Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara, Moroccan diplomacy reports in separate statements.

This support aligns with the position of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), to which Saint Lucia, Grenada, and the Commonwealth of Dominica belong, as well as Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This regional bloc inaugurated a consular representation in Dakhla on March 31, 2022.

The talks on November 28 resulted in the signing of a cooperation roadmap for 2025-2027 with Grenada and an agreement with the Commonwealth of Dominica on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders. For the record, on November 8, the kingdom concluded a cooperation roadmap for 2025-2027 with the government of Saint Lucia.

The Polisario has lost almost all its regional clout

The recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara by these Caribbean states results from an outreach effort toward this region of the American continent, initiated about twenty years ago by Moroccan diplomacy. Before establishing a consulate in Dakhla, these countries had expressed their solidarity with the November 13, 2020, operation launched by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) to restore free circulation at the El Guerguerate border crossing. These states also defend the kingdom's positions at the UN Committee of 24, where Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia sit.

Morocco also counts other allies in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), such as the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, which withdrew, in November 2020, its recognition of «SADR». Suriname, for its part, went further by opening, in May 2022, a general consulate in Dakhla.

This diplomatic offensive by the kingdom in this area has profoundly changed the situation. «Until 2009, all 14 Caribbean countries recognized the phantom republic, except for the Bahamas, which supported the territorial integrity of the Kingdom. Today, 12 of the 14 countries in this group have changed their position in favor of Morocco's territorial integrity and its sovereignty over its southern provinces», welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, in May 2022, in statements to the press. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic has withdrawn its recognition of «SADR» and announced the upcoming opening of a consulate in Dakhla. The Grand Slam is within reach, with only Belize remaining.